Laundry appliance door for treatment of non-moving articles

Abstract

A door assembly for a horizontal axis laundry appliance and a horizontal axis laundry appliance with the door assembly are disclosed. The door assembly includes a an appliance door with an outer face opposite and spaced apart from an inner face with the inner and outer faces defining a compartment. The compartment includes a door rotatably mounted to the appliance top provide selective access to the compartment. One or more nozzles are provided for selectively supplying a treatment fluid to the compartment.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A door assembly for a horizontal axis laundry appliance, the laundry appliance comprising a cabinet including a front panel defining an opening and a drum positioned within the cabinet, the drum defining an interior, the door assembly comprising:
 an appliance door comprising an inner face and an outer face opposite and spaced apart from the inner face, the inner face and the outer face defining a compartment fluidly isolated from the interior of the drum; 
 a compartment door rotatably mounted to the appliance door and movable between an open position and a closed position to provide selective access to the compartment; and 
 a support shelf provided within the compartment, the support shelf extending horizontally from the outer face of the appliance door into the compartment; and 
 one or more dispensing nozzles configured for selectively supplying a treatment fluid to the compartment, 
 wherein the support shelf is accessible when the compartment door is in the open position. 
 
     
     
       2. The door assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the outer face defines a compartment opening, the compartment door providing selective access to the compartment opening. 
     
     
       3. The door assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the compartment opening provides access to the compartment. 
     
     
       4. The door assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the treatment fluid is a disinfecting fluid, and the one or more dispensing nozzles selectively directs a spray of the disinfecting fluid to the support shelf. 
     
     
       5. The door assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a reservoir within the compartment, the reservoir fluidly coupled to a pump to provide a pressurized flow of the treatment fluid. 
     
     
       6. The door assembly of  claim 5 , further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the pump and the one or more dispensing nozzles to provide the pressurized flow of the treatment fluid to the nozzles. 
     
     
       7. The door assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the pressurized flow of the treatment fluid is atomized by the one or more nozzles and directed to the support shelf. 
     
     
       8. The door assembly of  claim 5 , wherein a portion of the reservoir defines the support shelf. 
     
     
       9. A laundry appliance defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the laundry appliance comprising:
 a cabinet including a front panel, the front panel defining an opening; 
 a drum positioned within the cabinet, the drum defining an interior; and 
 a door assembly rotatably mounted to the cabinet proximate to the opening to permit selective access to the opening, the door assembly comprising:
 an appliance door comprising an inner face and an outer face opposite and spaced apart from the inner face, the inner face and the outer face defining a compartment fluidly isolated from the interior of the drum; and 
 a compartment door rotatably mounted to the appliance door and movable between an open position and a closed position; and 
 
 a support shelf provided within the compartment, the support shelf extending horizontally from the outer face of the appliance door into the compartment; and
 one or more dispensing nozzles configured for selectively supplying a treatment fluid to the compartment, 
 wherein the support shelf is accessible when the compartment door is in the open position. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The laundry appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the outer face defines a compartment opening, the compartment door providing selective access to the compartment opening. 
     
     
       11. The laundry appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the compartment opening provides access to the compartment. 
     
     
       12. The laundry appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the treatment fluid is a disinfecting fluid, and the one or more dispensing nozzles selectively directs a spray of the disinfecting fluid to the support shelf. 
     
     
       13. The laundry appliance of  claim 9 , further comprising a reservoir within the compartment, the reservoir fluidly coupled to a pump to provide a pressurized flow of the treatment fluid. 
     
     
       14. The laundry appliance of  claim 13 , further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the pump and the one or more nozzles to provide the pressurized flow of treatment fluid to the nozzles. 
     
     
       15. The laundry appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the pressurized flow of treatment fluid is atomized by the one or more nozzles and directed to the support shelf. 
     
     
       16. The laundry appliance of  claim 13 , wherein a portion of the reservoir comprises the support shelf.